Meet Sami Brielle

We were lucky to catch up with Sami Brielle recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sami , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

Growing up in a household where my parents placed a strong emphasis on hard work and academic achievement, I naturally became a straight-A student—but I was also extremely hard on myself. From the age of 10, my life’s purpose revolved around one goal: getting into a good college. Every decision I made was guided by the question, “Will this help me get into my dream school?” My work ethic stems from my parents’ encouragement but also from the high standards I’ve always set for myself.
When it comes to work, I got my first job at 14. I practically begged the local McDonald’s to hire me, even though I was technically too young. I started work on my 15th birthday. I wanted to throw myself an unforgettable Sweet 16 birthday party, and I knew my parents weren’t going to pay for it, hence begging McDonald’s for a job. (Spoiler alert: I didn’t make enough money, but my Mom surprised me and my best friend with a trip to LA to visit colleges—best Sweet 16 ever.)
Another large part of my work ethic was inspired by my drive for financial independence. As a woman, I believe that earning my own money and not being financially dependent on anyone else is extremely important. Financial freedom gives me control over my life, and that’s something I’ll always strive for.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

Hi! I’m Sami Brielle, I’m a 22-year-old from New Jersey who’s currently living in LA. Growing up in New Jersey, I danced 30 hours a week and spent lots of time in my bedroom writing sad music. Mostly about boys, and some about my struggles with ADHD and depression. To sum my childhood up in 5 words, I’d say: dance, songwriting, studying, YouTube, Minecraft. I really struggled with ADHD and depression for the majority of my childhood, but I was inspired to push through by two things: my life’s purpose of getting into a good college, and my hope that one day I’d be “as cool as” my favorite YouTubers. I grew up watching Skydoesminecraft, Team Crafted, Tana Mongeau, Shane Dawson, Nigahiga and listening to the Callherdaddy podcast, just to name a few.
Fast forward to now, I just graduated from UCLA this past Spring 2024 with a degree in Communications and Entrepreneurship. I began creating content in the high school bathroom when I was 17-years-old on TikTok, and that blossomed into my current content creation and entertainment career. During my four years in college, I focused on creating college-related content, showing off the funny, upbeat moments of the college party scene at UCLA and all across America, as well as the daily struggles of student life. I also tried out various entrepreneurial endeavors that I am not focused on currently, including a COVID-test delivery service, and running an influencer marketing agency. Now that I have graduated, I continue to make comedic, party-related content and man-on-the-street interview videos, while also showcasing aspects of my true personality as well, like my love for dance, songwriting and creating music.
Right now, I’m focused on my career as an artist. My goal is to create music that “captures captivating moments”. My recent song “LETS GO” (which was originally written about a USC frat party!) captures the insane energy of spending a fun night out at a crazy club/party. This song is currently extremely viral on TikTok and David Guetta even remixed it!
I just released a new song, “GAMEDAY”, on December 13th. This song is meant to capture the contagiously high-energy of an audience before and during a sports game. I want this song to make you feel like you’re at a pre-game, sipping a beer with your best friends, about to watch your favorite sports team play. OR make you feel like you’re currently INSIDE the stadium, and your favorite player just made a great move. I am currently focused on promoting this song on social media and getting influencers to make creative videos to the song as well. I really would love to get this song played in major sports stadiums – NFL, NCAA, NBA, MLB, FIFA, etc. I’d also love to make music videos for both GAMEDAY and LETS GO… maybe soon 😉
Overall, I’m a girl in my early 20s who likes to try things that I think are fun. I know my identity will change, and my work will change, as my hobbies and interests change. I like to think of different years of my life as projects. In 2025, I will be focusing on my “capturing moments in music” project.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Okay… this is going to be strange advice… hear me out. I once had a life coach, named Ara Gomez, instill in me the basic idea that “we’re all going to die one day… and isn’t that wonderful!” What this idea means to me: we get to take opportunities and risks, or we can ignore them and play our lives “safe”, but eventually, I’m going to die anyways. I get to choose how I live this life. Everything about this life I have is uncertain, but there is certainty in where it ends up, and there is a strange sort of beauty in that. This idea has given me a lot of liberation and often calms my anxiety. Worried about messing up a performance? Who cares, I’m gonna die one day. Worried about what people think about me? Who cares, I’m gonna die one day. Worried about posting a video or releasing a song that people hate? Who cares, I’m gonna die one day. I know this is probably strange advice, but it’s given me a lot of freedom.
I also received some valuable advice from Gary Vee that I’d like to share, as it has helped me a lot: “Instead of guessing what’s right, try many different things to try to figure out what’s right”. Many of us live by this notion that we just need to “figure it out”… but “figuring it out” doesn’t happen without trial and error. This advice from Gary inspired me to take a look at my endeavors as chapters, not permanent commitments. I get to try out different things that interest me and feel out if they’re right or not. It’s better to try and feel, than it is to have decision paralysis and stay stagnant.
In terms of qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in my journey, I’d say the quality of my friendships has been extremely important. Having emotional support from people who believe in me, and are also working on entrepreneurial endeavors and understand the struggles that come with, has been extremely important.

Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?

I tend to feel overwhelmed very quickly recently. It’s very strange – the more proud I become of the things I’ve done and decisions I’ve made, the more anxious of a person I become. Sometimes when I’m overwhelmed, I just continue to spiral. Every now and then I’ll have a day where I wake up late, and then spend the entire day accomplishing nothing other than eating food, rolling around in bed, and spiraling about whatever problems I created in my head that day. When I’m overwhelmed, I know that journaling (prompts about self-love and gratitude), going on walks, working out, and spending time with friends tends to help. I guess the only advice that I have for now is try to do something active like working out or mindful like journaling when you’re overwhelmed, as it may give your brain a little break. If anyone has good advice, please let me know lol.

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Image Credits

Seb Shoots, Sofia McMaster

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